In 1993, my husband Chris and I visited Joshua Tree National Park, which I had never seen before. His mother lived nearby in Yucca Valley, so we took a day hike. Out of respect for all the reptiles of the…
In 1993, my husband Chris and I visited Joshua Tree National Park, which I had never seen before. His mother lived nearby in Yucca Valley, so we took a day hike. Out of respect for all the reptiles of the…
I wrote this poem in 1983 for Al Gilbert, who was an absolute angel in my life. From my early childhood (age three), he taught me, he cared for me, and he loved me—teaching me to dance and healing my…
Back in 1983, on a night walk, I looked down. And there before me was a cocoon, with the caterpillar still weaving it in the moonlight, on the sidewalk where I stood. I stopped, looked, and smiled. This was the…
In 1989, a woman wandered the streets of Santa Monica, homeless, disheveled, emaciated. Every day, I saw her in the same spot, and my heart went out to her, so I stopped what I was doing and said a silent…
In the summer of 1982, I was midway through my college education. My life had never been completely calm. Because I am disabled with cerebral palsy, left-side hemiplegia, and dyslexia, it has been a series of conflicts. And not because…
I wrote this poem in late 1983 while in college. During this time, learning by studying was a goal and expectation. I was determined to let nothing stop me from becoming more educated so I could thrive. Even though there…
One sunny day back in 1983, I walked to a neighborhood park that had a shallow, still pond. When I sat by the water, I sat to calm my racing mind. But as I sought repose, I observed ripples in…
In 1985, I was a student at Santa Monica College, but I had to deal with the same issues and same kind of wrongheaded experts that I had faced right after I graduated from high school in 1969 when Rehab…
I wrote this poem on July 29, 1981, a day I remember vividly. That spring, I had turned thirty, and I vowed, for the next thirty years, I would keep working through each and every obstacle in my life. I…
It was sunset. April 24th 1983, the day time changed, the day we turned our clocks forward for Daylight Savings Time. And the evening was perfect. It was safer, then, for a woman to go outside in the evening glow…